[3] Erskine Sanford was born in Trinidad, Colorado, and was educated at the Horace Mann School in New York City.

[4] Beginning his acting career with Minnie Maddern Fiske's company,[5] he made his professional debut in Leah Kleschna.

[5]: 16 For some 15 years, he was associated with the Theatre Guild, playing roles on Broadway and on tour, including performances of Porgy and Strange Interlude on the London stage.

[7] In Kenosha, Wisconsin, Sanford first met Orson Welles in 1922, when the seven-year-old boy came backstage to meet him after a touring performance of Mr. Pim Passes By.

Appearing as Mazzini Dunn, Sanford reprised the role he had created 18 years before in the Theatre Guild's world premiere production.